UP Terror Module: ATS Arrests 3 More Suspects With 'Al Qaeda Links'

The arrests come after two were nabbed on 11 July and questioned over alleged plans to carry out attacks in India.

The UP ATS arrested three suepects with alleged links to Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind.

(Photo Courtesy: UP ATS)

The Uttar Pradesh Anti-Terrorism Squad (ATS) on Wednesday, 14 July, arrested three suspects with alleged links to Al Qaeda-linked Ansar Ghazwat-ul Hind from Lucknow. The arrests came days after two others were arrested in connection with an alleged terror plot.

The two suspects – Minaj and Maseeruddin – who were arrested on Sunday revealed the names of the three suspects on Wednesday who were then called to the ATS headquarters for questioning.

The UP ATS, in a statement, said that Mohammad Mustakeem (44), Mohammad Moid (29), and Shakeel (35) were arrested after they confessed to their alleged links with the outfit.

"The two suspects that were arrested on 11 July, who had links to the Indian outfit of Al-Qaeda, were questioned while they were in police remand and based on their revelations, three more suspects were arrested on 14 July," UP ADG, Law and Order, Prashant Kumar said in a statement.

While Shakeel is accused of providing others with weapons, Minaj is accused of helping him procure them, with Maseeruddin, Mohammad Moid, and Mohammad Mustakeem also being a part of the alleged plan, he said.

What's the Case?

The UP ATS on Sunday said that it uncovered “a big terror module”, following arrests of Minaj and Maseeruddin. It said that a man named Umar Halmandi was planning to carry out terrorist activities in India and was driving these activities from the Pakistan/Afghanistan border.

The ATS has alleged that Minaj and Maseeruddin were planning to attack important places in several cities of eastern UP, including Lucknow, on 15 August.

The police also said that it found explosives and a pistol at Minaj's residence at the Kakori town of Lucknow district.